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Chapter 15
Previous Chapter * Han's and Fenix's Apartment, Grove City, California * Saturday, April 11, 201X, 5:20 PM PST “There! All done!” Fenix Strom put the finishing touches into his gizmo. He rubbed his sore eyes with his forearms, as his fingers were greasy from lubricant. The desk he had been working on was absolutely littered with mechanical parts, tools, and splotches of dark oil. His small room flickered blue from the multiple computer screens placed around his desk. They all displayed blueprints and complicated formulas for the device Fenix was tinkering on. Bam! There was the sound of the front door being unlocked, and someone shuffling inside the apartment. It was Han, back from his bike ride. Fenix listened to the sounds of the footsteps treading down the hall, past his room, and then into the bathroom. Soon the sounds of water echoed as the door closed shut. Hmm… Something happened. It was easy for Fenix to tell. Maybe it was because Fenix could tell solely based the difference in the usual distance and timing of his steps. Maybe he could tell from the lack of the usual announcement of arriving home. More than likely though, Fenix could tell something was wrong because they have such a long history together, having first met in elementary school because of a shared interest in comics and superheroes. Ah, it took him back. Fenix remembered their time together during middle school, when his powers first blossomed. He started to observe things; numbers and patterns in things he never paid attention to. Eventually, he noticed that Han was hiding a secret from him. Turns out, Han had developed powers too. The sound of the shower turning off snapped Fenix back into reality, and he heard his housemate dry himself off and walk to the living room, where he flopped with a loud groan. Something was definitely bugging Han. Fenix wiped his hands with a rag that was strewn on the floor as he walked out of his room. * * * Han groaned in pain, now having bandaged up all of his major injuries. He solidly plopped onto the sofa, just in his underwear. He was lucky. He hadn’t expected to be tossed around so easily in that fight. It wasn’t the first fight Han’s ever been in, nor was it even his first fight against another person with powers, but it had been a long time. He was very rusty. Han sunk into the couch, the cool fabric feeling especially nice against his skin. As he considered selling his bike just to be safe, he heard a door open and close, and he lifted his head to look at Fenix, who roared in laughter at his sorry state. “What happened to your face? Did you fall off your bike or something?” Han just sent him a venomous look before covering his face. “I had a shitty day.” “Why?” asked Fenix, head curiously tilted. Han remained silent, rubbing his eyes. The two friends stayed silent for a moment, both turning to watch the news program on the TV. There was a blonde lady, dressed in a sharp maroon jacket. “…Now Helga, can you comment on the rumors of a joint venture between HaleCorp and Antiquities Xtraordinaire?” asked the woman. The camera switched views, and another lady could be seen on the other side of the desk. Unlike her interviewer, Helga wore a much more traditional dark suit. When she spoke, her voice sounded smooth and purposeful. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but the rumors are true. We are still working on the kinks, but both companies are excited and want to unveil some very special projects to the world.” “Can you comment on what exactly the nature of these projects would be? The world is curious about the partnership between a major technologies company and an antiquities company.” Helga smiled. “Sorry Casey, but you’ll just have to wait and see.” “And that’s all the time we have today for our interview with CEO and founder of HaleCorp, Helga Hale. Thank you for your time, Helga.” “No problem.” “This is Casey Grant, with Grove News Network. Donna, back to you.” Now, there was a lady with ebony skin. She cleared her throat before addressing to the camera. “Thanks Casey. The community is reeling from tragic hostage standoff at the Grove City Library yesterday that left three dead. A vigil for the victims is to be held tonight. Police say a person of interest is still at large, and urge the community–” Fenix spoke, breaking the silence between the two. “Why are you so upset that you lost the fight? Is it because you needed help to win against him?” Han finally lifted his hands from his face. Fenix grimaced at the sight of Han’s face, whose cheek was bruised black. Han sat up, propped by his elbows. “...Alright, and how did you figure out that this time?” “Like I always say, you see but you do not observe. The scraping on your knuckles instead of the palms suggests you were punching, not falling. The angle of the scrapes - they’re lower, below the knuckles. You were attacking someone taller than you. But he was stronger. Better. He got into your space.” Fenix pointed at Han’s neck. “There’s bruises there, going lengthwise around. Finger bruises, but only one hand. You were being lifted. A man with that much strength and that close in? He had you beat. You were thrown around.” Fenix looked at his bruises. “A lot. But you had help, didn’t you? You couldn’t have beaten him on your own at that point, not without exposing your powers. Someone else had to come save you.” “Well there’s one thing you didn’t get. I did ''use my powers.” “And what possible reason did you use them for?” “He was a metahuman! Onyx – that’s what he said his name was. He was rocking powers too.” Fenix’s eyes grew wide, and he dropped his playful mood. “What were they?” Han smirked. “Rock manipulation.” Fenix rolled his eyes. “My computer ''did pick up on the police scanner about a meteor crash. Was that...?” “Yeah, that was him.” “What else could he do?” “He can make rocks levitate, explode, and form into weapons.” Han got up, and walked towards his room, wincing with each step. “He has no regard for others,” he continued loudly. “That man openly used his powers to attack me and this other guy in broad daylight.” Han walked back into the living room, now wearing a shirt. He gave Fenix a hard look. “He's dangerous.” “What did he look like?” “The most notable thing about him was this dark coat he wore, like the cross between a cloak and a lab coat. Organization MERLIN... That’s what he said he was from. Ever heard of it?” Fenix appeared thoughtful. “No, I haven’t… I wonder if I can dig anything up online. What about this other person?” “...Ah! I left him for the cops!” Han squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, the guy seemed okay. He had a real mountain man-feel to him. But he had some powers too. He can make spikes or something, I’m not sure.” Fenix rubbed his chin with his hand, mulling it all over. “Two metahumans in one day, both fighting each other? There’s no way this is a coincidence.” Han thought more about the fight earlier. What was Organization MERLIN? Was it a team of metahumans? Why did Onyx want to capture that other man? Han’s thoughts were interrupted by a circular metallic device that plopped onto his chest. “You stick it into the notch of your ear, and you can press it to talk to me,” explained Fenix as Han did just that. “It’s a communicator I’ve been working on, just because. You can tune it to other frequencies, and with someone like Onyx duking it out in the open, it might be wise to keep it on a police radio one. Plus, it’s small enough so that no one will probably notice it.” “Cool, so I don’t have to rely on my phone.” “Oh, and speaking of, yours was ringing while you were showering.” Han sat back up again. “Oh? Okay.” “I’ll be in my room,” said Fenix, as he started walking away. “I just thought of an idea for another device, and I’ll do a little digging on this Organization MERLIN too.” “Yeah, okay Nick. I’ll try too.” Han made his way into his room and picked up his phone from the counter. He turned it on, and his eyes widened in surprise at the phone number. He held the phone up to his ear and listened to the message. A young woman’s voice spoke after a brief pause. ''Hey Han, it’s been a while, huh? I’ve recently moved to Grove City for work. I want to catch up. Let me know when you’re free next week. We can go to the Maple Leaf Café; I’ve heard good things about that place. '' Han flopped onto his bed, phone still clasped in his hand. First there was this Onyx guy and the mountain man, and now Silvia? This was really exhausting. Han buried his face into his pillow, breathing in the scent. He couldn’t wait for Julian to get back home. He did have to think of a cover story for the bruises though. How would he react when he saw his injuries, he wondered? What he would think about him meeting with his ex? He ran different scenarios in his mind as his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep. Next Chapter